Tensioning means for golf ball winders



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. J. ATTI TENSIONING MEANS FOR GOLF BALL WINDERS Nov. 16, 1954 Filed Jan. 22, 1953 4- ATTORNEY Nov. 16, 1954 R. J. ATTI 2,694,535

TENSIONING MEANS FOR cow BALL wmmans Filed Jan. 22, 1 953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 7 32 /e4P//&7. 477/ 6/ BY N 29 41's ATTORNEY United States Patent TENSIONIN G IVIEAN S FOR GOLF BALL WIN DERS Ralph J. Atti, Clifltside Park, N. J.

Application January 22, 1953, Serial No. 332,647

3 Claims. (Cl. 242-155) This invention relates to winding machines in general, and more especially to winding machines for winding a conventional rubber strip or string onto the core of a ball, such as a golf ball.

With winding machines for winding the conventional rubber strip or string onto the core of a golf ball, it is conventional to select a preformed core of about of an inch in diameter, preferably composed of rubber and in the trade known as a pill, which is frequently frozen to a temperature of about 50 or more below zero F. The rubber strip in turn is generally about $1 of an inch in width, and .020 of an inch in thickness, and is wound onto the core, when intended for a golf ball of the conventional United States size of about 1.68 inches in diameter, to a diameter of 1.58 inches, allowing .10 inch for the thickness of the cover. It has also been found desirable to exercise a predetermined tension on the rubber strip when winding the same onto the core, which tension varies with the specifications of the golf ball manufacturer. In order to achieve the aforesaid results when winding the body of a golf ball in order to obtain uniformity, so essential to the production of a good golf ball, considerable difficulty has been encountered in maintaining the predetermined tension throughout the winding operation, to terminate the winding operation at the proper time and to seal the end of the strip when the winding operation has been completed.

With the aforesaid in mind, the present invention aims to provide an improved winding machine wherein the tension on the rubber strip can with facility be adjusted, depending upon the resiliency or elasticity of the rubber strip being used and the specifications of the golf ball manufacturer, the winding operation automatically stopped when a predetermined diameter of ball body has been obtained, the winding of a succeeding ball initiated promptly and with facility, and the winding operation in turn automatically stopped should the rubber strip break or the end of a supply approach so that the tension in the strip being wound be maintained uniform throughout the entire portion or portions of the strip wound on a ball.

These and other features, capabilities and advantages of the invention will appear from the subjoined'detailed description of one specific embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a front elevation of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a plan view looking upwardly of a part of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmental section showing one of the main tensioning rollers.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail partly in section showing an idler constituting a part of the support of the body of the ball being wound.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 77 of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment shown, there is provided a cheek plate 1 secured to the front of the frame 2 on the rear of which frame there is mounted the motor 3 which is provided with a pulley 4 drivingly connected by the belt 5 to the pulley 6 mounted on the shaft 7 having fixed thereto the bearings 3 and 9 slidably mounted in the casing 10 which is secured to the frame 2 and cheek plate 1. The front end of the bearing 9 extends through the cheek plate 1 and has mounted on its front end the cylindrical drive roller 11 composed of steel and having a polished cylindrical surface for engaging the body 12 of the ball being wound.

2,694,535 Patented Nov. 16, 1954 The shaft 7 between the bearings 8 and 9 has fixed thereon the cam disks 13 and 14 forming an inclined groove 15 for the follower 16 consisting of a stud at the lower end of the shank 17 extending down from the head 18 in the cap 19 at the top of the casing 10. The head 18 preferably as shown has washers 20 composed of neoprene on either side of the same thereby materially to absorb the sound produced by the cooperation of the disks 13 and 14 with the stud 16. In turn, in order to reduce the wear and tear on the disks 13 and 14 and stud 16, and in turn also to maintain the heat generated by this reaction to a minimum, the casing 10 is filled with a lubricating oil preferably to a level above the disks 13 and 14, which oil, see Fig. 4, is supplied to the casing 10 through the filler conduit 21 which is in communication with the lower end of the casing 10, and has its inlet at the upper end 22 thereof. If the chamber in the casing 10 is 1 /2 inches in height, then excellent results have been achieved when the oil rises to a level of about 1 /8 inches. The drive roller 11 of the present machine is the only positively movable portion of the machine, and it not only rotates, but also reciprocates. This isolated dual action, however, is not new, see as an instance United States Patent No. 2,465,992 of Raphael Atti. What is new, however, is the control of the rubber strip now to be described.

To one side of the cheek plate 1 there extends the arm 23 at the free end of which is freely rotatable the depending rod 24 which has a spring 25 thereon to enter a depression in the central opening 26 of the spool 27 on which the supply 28 of a rubber strip is mounted and from which the strip 29 extends to the first tension roller 30, then to the next tension roller 31, then under the roller 32 at the end of the arm 33, then in the groove 34 between the inwardly tapering drum portions 35 and 36, rotatably mounted on the pin 37 secured to the cheek plate 1, and finally onto the body 12 of the ball being wound. The drum portion 35 is spaced from the cheek plate 1, see Fig. 6, by the spacer 38.

The strip or string 29 of rubber may vary, depending upon the specifications of the golf ball manufacturer. Frequently this strip 29 is about A of an inch wide by .020 of an inch thick. The elasticity and resiliency of the strip 29 will of course depend upon the method of curing the rubber, the age of the same, the source of the same, and the dimensions of the same. For this reason, not only is the control of the tension on the strip important from the standpoint of the specifications of the particular golf ball manufacturer, but also from the standpoint of the consistency and dimensions of the strip 29.

The idler 39 formed by the conical drums 35 and 36 is disposed adjacent to the roller 11 and its axis of rotation is substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the roller 11 so that the body 12 of the ball will be securely supported by the two. To maintain the body 12 in position against displacement, the narrow idler 40, preferably having a convex periphery, engages the portion of the ball body 12 at the top. This idler 40 is journalled on the pin 41 secured to the lower end of the secondary frame 42 slidably mounted in the bushing 43 secured to the front face of the cheek plate 1. Above the bushing 43 the frame 42 is pivotally connected to the lever 44 fulcrurned at 45 to the front face of the cheek plate 1. Above the pivotal connection of the frame 42 with the lever 44, the frame 42 is provided with a pin 46 to receive weights, such as the weights 47, 48 and 49 of one-half pound units or varying units depending upon the specifications of the manufacturer of the golf ball.

Should the rubber strip 29 break or the supply become exhausted, the roller 32 will swing downwardly and at the same time cause its cam 50 on the back of the cheek plate 1, in engagement with the arm 51, to swing the latter about its pivot 52 in turn to swing upwardly the arm 53 having the lip 54 extending forwardly through the opening in the cheek plate 1 to engage the off push button 55 of the microswitch 56 which is electrically connected to the motor 3 to shut off the current thereto and thus bring the machine to rest.

In turn the bracket 42 has a laterally extending arm 57 extending therefrom with an adjustable pin 58 secured in the'end thereof, theupper end of which pinSS is disposed in position to engage and actuate the off push button 55 when raised a suflicient distance by the roller 41 which of course is gradually rising as the ball body 12 increases during the winding of the strip 29 thereon. After the machine has come to rest by the actuation of the off push button 55, the old ball body 12 replaced with a new core, and in turn the strip 29 positioned, in order again to start the operation of the machine, it will only be necessary then to actuate the on push button 59 of the microswitch 56 when the current to the motor 3 will be reestablished. With the present combination, it will thus be seen that one and the same microswitch can be used to arrest the machine in case of an interruption in a supply of the rubber strip and also when the winding operation has been completed, thereby reducing to a minimum the mechanism and wiring required to effect these two operations.

One of the main features of the present invention resides in the control for the tensioning of the rubber strip 29 now to be described. The rollers 30 and .31 are mounted on the shafts of bolts, such as the shaft 60 illustrated in Fig. 5, which extends through and is screw threadedly connected to the cheek plate 1 with a nut 61 at its rear end engaging the rear face of the cheek plate 1 to fix its position. The threaded portion of the shaft 60 extending out from the front face of the cheek plate 1 has screw threadedly mounted thereon the sleeve 62 of the lever 63, the front end of which engages a rotatable bearing such as the ball bearing unit 64 mounted inside of the roller 30 and on which the roller 30 rotates. The front end of the roller 30 engages the bolt head 65 of the shaft or shank 60 and the unit 64 and cylindrical portion 66 of the roller 30 are pressed into engagement with one another and with the head 65 by the sleeve 62, the pressure depending upon the tension to be exercised, that is, depending upon the resistance to rotation to be offered by the roller 30. In order to guide the operator in the tension to be exercised, a number of dimples or graduations 67 in an arcuate row are formed in the front face of the cheek plate 1 in line with the path of movement of the tapered end 68 of the arm 63. These tensions will vary depending upon the grade of rubber of the strip 29, the age of the same, and the dimensions of the same, mainly on account of the particular elasticity of the strip 29. Excellent results have been achieved when the highest measured tension approaches 2 pounds, that is, when the tapered end 68 registers with the dimple 67 at the right hand end of the row of dimples 67. The tension here referred to is the tension exercised on the strip 29 when moving from the roller 30 to the roller 31. This tension is not only dependent upon the elasticity to be achieved by the ultimate golf ball, but also dependent upon the tension required in the strip 29 to support the idler or roller 32 in position so that its cam 50 will clear the arm 51 and not rest on the arm 51 to actuate its associated arm 53, in turn accidentally to actuate the off pushbutton 55.

Although it has been found satisfactory to dispense with the flanges on the peripheries of the rollers 32 and 40, it has been found desirable to provide the rollers 30 and 31 with peripheral flanges. One of these flanges 168 in the present instance is integral with the cylindrical portion 66, while the other one 69 is a part of an annulus secured in place by the screws 70. The separable flange 69 is provided primarily to anchor the hard rubber sleeve 71 in the groove formed adjacent the flange 168 on which sleeve 71 the rubber strip 29 rides or is wound. This sleeve 71 serves a number of purposes. As an instance, by wrapping the rubber at least once completely around the roller 30, it is unnecessary to provide an idler to press the strip 29 into frictional engagement with the roller 30. In the next place, rubber reacts on steel to impair the surface and requires that the rubber engaged surfaces of the roller be constantly refinished to present a polished rubber engaging surface, otherwise the surface would become pitted and soon present sharp cutting edges to scratch or impair the strip 29. In the next place the rubber surface of the rubber sleeve 71 would effectively cooperate with the strip 29 to eliminate any slippage between the two. When the rollers 30 and 31 are so constructed and the rubber strip 29 after leaving the reel 27 is first wound at least one complete .turn around the roller 30, and again at least one complete turn around 'the roller 31, there is no danger of the strip 29 slipping relative to the roller 30 when passing to the roller 31, and in turn no danger of slipping relative to the roller 31 when passing to the idler 39. When the danger to slipping is thus eliminated without any danger to impair the strip 29 by contact as an instance with sharp metal projections produced by the surface of the rollers 30 and 31, it has been found that the operator can with facility regulate the tension to be exercised on the rubber strip 29 relative to the speed of the motor 3 and the pressure exercised on the body 12 by the roller 40, by merely moving the two arms 63 of the rollers 30 and 31 to exercise a greater or less tension in the strip 29.

In the operation of the machine, excellent results have been achieved when a pill frequently as small as /4 of an inch in diameter, sometimes frozen to a temperature of 50 or more below zero F., has secured thereto the free end of the rubber strip 29 by any suitable means and the ball then positioned below the idler 40 and resting between the idler 39 and the drive roller 11; the speed selected for the motor 3 approximates about 1,750 revolutions per minute; and the pin 58 adjusted to allow the ball body 12 to increase to a size of 1.58 inches in diameter, allowing .10 inch for the cover to produce a golf ball of 1.68 inches in diameter, the conventional size used in the United States. When the winding has been completed, it has become conventional to tuck the terminating free end of the rubber strip 29 under one of the previously wound portions. It is of course true that the drive cylinder 11 imparts not only a rotative force to the ball body 12 but also a reciprocating force so necessary to cause the winding to result in a substantially perfect sphere.

In the claims the core and body of the ball 12 will be referred to as the ball in embryo to distinguish it from the final ball enclosed in a cover, it being of course assumed that the core before receiving any part of the rubber strip 29 is just as much in the embryonic stage of the ultimate ball as the body 12 while the rubber strip 29 is being wound thereon.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to the details of construction without departing from the general spirit of the invention 'as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The strip tensioning mechanism for a rubber strip as it passes from a supply reel to a ball in embryo characterized by a frame, a first roller and a second roller mounted in said frame intermediate the supply reel and the ball in embryo, the rubber strip passing from the reel to and around said first roller, then to and around said second roller, and then to the ball, said'tensioning mechanism consisting in a stub shaft on which each of said rollers is journalled, a sleeve mounted on each stub shaft in engagement with its associated roller, a rotatable bearing interposed between each roller and its stub shaft and in turn interposed between each sleeve and its associated roller, and a device for actuating each rotatable bearing in an axial direction to and from its associated roller to regulate the frictional engagement between such sleeve and its associated roller in turn precisely to predetermine the tension transmitted to the rubber strip. I

2. The tensioning mechanism as set forth in claim 1 in which a ball bearing constitutes the rotatable bearing, each stub shaft has a head on its free end with its associated roller interposed between such head and its associated ball bearing, and the device also regulates the frictional engagement between, its associated roller and head in turn to regulate the tension transmitted to the rubber strip.

3. The tensioning mechanism as set forth in claim ,1 in which the stub shaft is the shank of a bolt having a head on its free end with its associated roller interposed between said head and its associated rotatable bearing, and the device is characterized by a screw threaded connection between each sleeve and its associated shank and a lever on each sleeve for turning such sleeve relative to its shank to regulate the frictional engagement between such sleeve, roller and head, in turn to regulate the tension transmitted to the rubber strip.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,073,818 1,329,341 Jarry Jan. 27, 1920 5 2,408,552 1,661,860 Templeton Mar. 6, 1923 2,465,992

6 Name Date McChesney Oct. 4, 1932 Sibley Dec. 4, 1934 Viens Mar. 16, 1937 Gammeter Oct. 1, 1946 Atti Apr. 5, 1949 

